


Driving Home For Christmas

by YellowBananaOwl



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 03:48:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17614865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellowBananaOwl/pseuds/YellowBananaOwl
Summary: Martin is supposed to visit his family in Wokingham, but things don't go as planned because we all know Martin's luck.





	Driving Home For Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Laramie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laramie/gifts).



> Written for the Fandot Secret Santa Exchange 2018
> 
> Characters belong to John Finnemore.

"Have a brilliant Christmas, Skip! Give your mum a big hug from me, and I'll see you after New Years." Arthur was hanging halfway out of the car window waving madly at him. "Oh, that means I should also say Happy -"

Martin had to assume the rest of the sentence was "New Year", because in that second Carolyn's car turned the corner and they were gone. He walked towards his van while wondering if he had remembered to bring everything he needed for the next week and a half. He went through the list in his head. A few changes of clothes, extra warm clothes in case winter decided to actually appear this year, presents for Mum, Simon and his wife, Simon's kids, Caitlyn and her kids, a nice shirt, and two very different ties so it wouldn't be obvious that he was wearing the same shirt on all occasions. Martin thought he was ready. He had packed everything this morning so that he could start on the drive to Wokingham right after he had finished work. It wasn't that long of a drive, but he also knew that if he went home first, he would be caught right in the middle of all the students leaving and he would be delayed and he would not make it to his Mum's house in time for a decent dinner. And he really wanted that dinner!

He got in his car, turned the engine on and blasted the barely still functioning heating system to its full power. It wasn't properly winter, but it was still cold enough. He rummaged through his bag and found his flask of tea and put it in the cupholder next to his seat. He took out his phone to send a message to his mum that he was on his way.

"Twelve voicemail messages?" Martin gasped as he took his phone off flight mode. "What on earth has been going on?" He had been doing so many things in the portacabin to make sure everything was done before they all left for the holidays he hadn't remembered to switch his phone back on.

He called his voicemail number. The messages were all from his mum. Apparently the whole of Wokingham seemed to have come down with the flu at the same time, or at least that's what it sounded like from the extensive list of names she managed to utter between coughing and sneezing. Most of the names were unknown to him, but sadly it included his entire family. So Simon and his family were staying at their house and Caitlyn and her kids at hers. Martin wanted to call her back to suggest his coming down there to take care of her so she wouldn't be alone, and to make sure she was okay, but in the next message she insisted that he didn't come down only to end up catching the flu himself. In the last message she told him she had arranged for her to go and stay with Simon, because apparently his wife was getting slightly better so she would be able to take care of all of them.

Martin sighed. This was not how this was supposed to go. He turned the key and headed towards Parkside Terrace. The thought of going back there now was quite depressive, but he had nowhere else to go. The house would be completely empty in a few hours (which normally was a good thing), but he certainly wasn't prepared for a Christmas celebration in that house. Christmas Eve was tomorrow and he didn't have a single thing in his cupboards, as he had lived on leftovers and items close to expiration date for the last two weeks so they wouldn't go off while he was away.

He stopped at Tesco on his way back and got some milk, bread, and beans to get through the night and next morning. He would have to go back out tomorrow morning and do some proper shopping when he had had time to make a list of what he actually needed.

There were still a few students in the house when he returned, and the entrance hall was freezing as the weather had suddenly turned a lot colder since this morning, and the door had been open because of people going in and out with luggage and Christmas presents all day. Martin wished the remaining students a happy Christmas and hurried up to his room. He plugged the electric heater in and quickly changed into warmer clothes while the heater tried to get the room to a liveable temperature. Apparently winter was coming after all.

Instead of a hearty meal prepared by his Mum he had to settle for beans on toast. He really wasn't in the mood for more advanced cooking right now, and he thought he'd treat himself to a proper take-away meal tomorrow. What he would do for Christmas Day and the rest of the week he hadn't decided yet.

Right now Martin wished he hadn't turned down any removal jobs, because that would at least give him something to fill the time with and also give him some extra money, but he had thought he was going away and had therefore declined any offers during the week between Christmas and New Years. Not that there had been much work, but every little bit had helped. Instead he was now home in an empty house, all by himself, everyone he knew was either ill or celebrating Christmas with their loved ones. Martin was glad he wasn't ill, but still he couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for himself.

Maybe he could ask Carolyn to let him take on small cargo flights if they appeared? She hadn't accepted any bookings over Christmas either because she didn't have any pilots available, but now she had one. Martin decided to send her a message to let her know that he was available should the opportunity come knocking.

"Why are you in Fitton?" Carolyn's reply came later that night. Martin had dozed off next to the telly, the plate of beans almost falling off his lap when the phone beeped and woke him up.

"Sudden change of plans. But I'm available for flights if you need me." Martin replied. It was almost half eleven and the room had finally reached a decent temperature. He decided to change into his pyjamas and write his shopping list in bed.

***

By the next morning winter had apparently come, the space heater had stopped working, and the room was absolutely freezing.

"Bloody brilliant!" Martin hissed. He put on some socks and an extra jumper and headed downstairs to the flats below hoping there was one he could borrow for the week.

But all the heaters were in the students' rooms and they were all locked. Only the common room was open. Originally this area was not part of his lease, but considering no one else was in the building and it had the only working heat source available, Martin decided to move down to the living room for the time being. At least until he could afford to buy another heater. He could hear his father's voice in his head. "An electrician could have fixed that heater in minutes, you know."

He would just have to make sure to not break anything, and no one would ever find out. The students wouldn't care, and he doubted the landlord would come knocking during the holidays. Martin went upstairs and got dressed. He took his shopping list, wallet, phone and keys, put on proper winter-wear and headed towards the front door. He opened the door and walked straight into a very white Arthur.

"Oh, hello Skip! I'm sorry I'm a bit snowy. I was going to walk straight from the car and here, but then your front garden was so deliciously untouched and I just had to make a snow angel. Isn't it brilliant?" Arthur pointed at a spot next to the front door where the snow had been wiped away completely. Martin assumed it was supposed to look like an angel.

"What are you doing here, Arthur?"

"I came to see you. Mum said you were home for the holidays. Why aren't you with your Mum?"

"She was ill and told me not to come," Martin said with a sigh.

"Oh no," said Arthur. "Will she be okay? Does she want me to come like last time?"

Martin shook his head. "Apparently everyone I know in Wokingham is ill, and they told me to stay away so I wouldn't catch it too."

"That was very clever," said Arthur. "You don't want to get sick."

"I guess so," answered Martin.

"Where are you going then? Are you going to make snow angels too? Or we can have a snowball fight!"

"I was going to the shops to get some groceries."

"On Christmas Eve Day?" said Arthur. "Don't be ridiculous! You need to do Christmasy things and have fun! It's the holidays and you don't have work today."

"I know, Arthur, but I wasn't supposed to be here this Christmas so I have no food in the house. I have to be boring and actually go and get some." Martin insisted.

"Can I come with you, at least?" asked Arthur. "Herc and I put up some more decorations last night and Mum's around ten on the storm scale."

"Sure," said Martin. "I don't mind the company, but I'm not going to be long. I'm just getting the bare essentials.

"Righto, Skip," said Arthur cheerfully and the two of them got in Martin's van and drove to the nearest supermarket. Martin took a shopping cart and started picking out the items on his list.

"Oh, look, Skip," said Arthur. "Mince pies! I love those."

"They're not on my list," said Martin.

"But it's Christmas. You need mince pies!"

"I'm not that fussed to be honest, and they're quite expensive," Martin argued.

"You're not fussed?" Arthur sounded like he had never heard of such a thing as not being excited about mince pies. "But it's Christmas!"

"Arthur, I just need a few essentials to get me through the next few days. Hopefully Mum will feel better and I can maybe drive down there on Boxing Day and stay for New Years. I don't intend to fill my flat with lots of unnecessary food stuffs."

"Unnecessary?" Arthur stared at him in disbelief. "Mince pies are very necessary!"

"Maybe for you," said Martin. "But I just need a few things and something easy for Christmas dinner."

"Are you mad, Skip? It's Christmas, you need pigs in blankets, mashed and roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, okay maybe not sprouts but if you want them you can get them, and Yorkshire pudding, and turkey, and Christmas pudding and mulled wine, and - "

"Arthur, I've told you before, I'm not that big on Christmas."

"You totally are, Skip! You were really looking forward to your Christmas dinner. You've been talking about it for weeks."

"But that was Mum's Christmas dinner," Martin insisted. "It's not the same when you're alone. I can't make all those things for myself, nor do I want to."

"What are you planning on eating then? Don't tell me you'll end up with baked potatoes again?"

"I was going to get some nice take-away tonight, actually. And I'll see if they have some frozen Christmas dinners here. I'm sure those'll have roast potatoes and Brussels sprouts."

"Frozen?" Arthur gasped. "Frozen Christmas dinner? That's not going to happen!"

"I am going to heat it up first," said Martin.

"But still!"

Arthur fell silent, and Martin took advantage of it and continued with his shopping list. It wasn't necessarily that he wasn't big on Christmas, but he couldn't cook a full Christmas meal for himself. First of all he didn't have the money, second of all he wouldn't been able to eat it all by himself because buying small portions of everything would cost even more. And deep down he hoped he would be able to go down to Wokingham in a few days. So Martin bought his necessary items and did a quick estimate on the cost. It ended up a bit cheaper than he had anticipated so he went back and got a pack of mince pies. This earned him a tiny smile from Arthur at least.

Martin and Arthur drove back to Parkside Terrace in silence. It was unusual for Arthur to stay quiet this long, so Martin wondered if he had offended him by refusing to cook a home-made Christmas dinner, but Arthur had to realise that Martin couldn't do that by himself, and he would just have to deal with it.

When they came back to Martin's flat, Arthur insisted on helping him with the groceries.

"Oh, wait, Arthur. Just put them in the kitchen down here."

"I can carry them upstairs for you, Skip, it's no trouble."

"No, I've moved down here for a bit so just put them on the kitchen counter and I'll find a place for them."

"Why have you moved downstairs?"

"The heater in my room is broken, and this is the only room with a radiator. Except the bathroom, but I don't want to eat and sleep in there," Martin said with a smile.

"Your heater is broken? Oh no, can you fix it?"

"I haven't looked at it," said Martin. "I don't know how, so I probably have to buy a new one if I manage to get some removal jobs during the next few days."

"Do you want me to take a look at it?"

"NO!" Martin shouted. The last thing that heater needed was some first-aid from Arthur Shappey. The house would probably not survive that either. "I'll just stay down here, it's fine. It's bigger and I'm home alone anyway."

"Are you sure?" Arthur looked concerned.

"Absolutely."

Arthur grabbed his car keys and stormed off with a quick goodbye. Martin was left in the students' living room utterly confused.

He put away the groceries, went upstairs to get his duvet and pillow and a few other essentials. He made himself a cup of tea and some toast and went on his phone to decide on a nice take-away meal for later.

***

It became apparent later that night after Martin had finished his curry and done the washing up that while the room wasn't as freezing as his upstairs room, it wasn't exactly nice and cosy either. He guessed the landlord would have to take a look at the heating in this building soon, but he couldn't call him about this now since strictly speaking he wasn't supposed to be on this floor. So Martin curled up under his duvet on the sofa and took out his book.

However, it was impossible to focus on the words in front of him, because his mind kept going to Wokingham and his Mum and the fact that he was supposed to be down there, sitting in a soft sofa in a warm room, getting spoilt rotten. Instead he was sitting on a sofa with a spring poking his bum, in a room a bit too cold for his liking, all by himself.

"Happy Bloody Christmas to me," he said and threw the book on the floor. "I'm getting more tea!"

He got up from the sofa and headed towards the kitchen area. He put the kettle on and then remembered that he still had a lot of his things in his van. All the Christmas presents for his family were there, they would have to wait until the next time he visited them because he couldn't afford paying for posting. Hopefully he would be down there in a few days, or he'd find some days after New Years to visit everyone. There were also the few Christmas presents he had received for himself to bring down to Wokingham. He decided to go and get them while the kettle boiled. Maybe they would help cheering him up.

He put on his coat and shoes and opened the door. He screamed.

In front of him stood someone dressed as Father Christmas but with their back to the door.

"Oh, no! You weren't supposed to come out _now_!" said a familiar voice. "I haven't got my beard on yet."

"Arthur?"

"No, I'm your secret santa," said the voice, which was definitely Arthur's. "And I've come to get you."

"What?"

Arthur turned around, his beard hanging only on one ear. "I've come to get you," he repeated.

"What _now_?"

"Yes," he said. "Where were you going? You don't have a removal job now, do you?"

"No," said Martin. "I was just going to get my presents from the car."

"You can't open your presents now! It's not Christmas day yet!"

"Arthur I'm a grown man, I open my presents when I feel like it, and right now I feel like it!"

"No, you can't," Arthur insisted. "Give me the car keys and I'll put them in _my_ car. Like I said, I've come to get you."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, you are coming back to our house and spending Christmas with us."

"You don't have to do that," said Martin. "I'm fine here on my own."

"I know you're fine, " said Arthur. "But still you shouldn't have to spend Christmas on your own."

"I'll be fine."

"Stop arguing and get whatever you need for a few days at Shappey's Christmas Castle."

"Oh God," said Martin. "You turned it into a castle?"

"No, not exactly, I wanted to, but Mum took down quite a lot of the decorations. I still call it my castle, though, because castles are brilliant. Anyway, get your things, I'm not letting you out until Boxing Day!"

***

"I'm pretty sure this qualifies as kidnapping," said Martin as they got out of Arthur's car outside the Knapp-Shappey house.

"Don't be silly, Skip," Arthur said with a chuckle. "You're not a kid, and I haven't put any tape over your mouth or anything. If you want to go home, you're free to do so, but you have to walk because I'm not driving you. So you might as well just come in."

Arthur opened the front door and Martin could feel the warmth and the smell of Christmas embrace him.

"Martin," Herc came towards him with a huge grin on his face and handed him a mug of mulled wine. "Come in and make your way to the sitting room. Douglas is fetching the mince pies as we speak."

"Douglas is here too?"

"He most certainly is," came Douglas' smooth voice from the sitting room. "Grab a pie before Arthur eats them all." He handed the tray to Martin who barely managed to take one before Arthur tore it out of his hands.

"Where's Carolyn," asked Douglas. "Doing her best to avoid the Christmas festivities?"

"No, she just finished making the bed for a no good, lazy first officer. I hope you don't mind I put some extra bread crumbs in it, Douglas." Carolyn said as she entered the room with bed linen in her arms.

"Not at all, Carolyn. Now I won't have to get up and raid your fridge for a midnight snack."

"Welcome Martin," Carolyn said. "I haven't had the chance to make yours yet. You're sleeping in Arthur's part of the house."

"Thank you, Carolyn. I'm sure I can manage to make my own bed."

"Isn't it brilliant?" cheered Arthur. "We can do it together so it'll be twice as fun. It's a shame Douglas' is already done or we could have helped him too."

"Oh what a shame," drawled Douglas.

"Why are you here, Douglas?" asked Martin. "I thought you were spending Christmas with your daughters."

"Not exactly," said Douglas. "Apparently going to Antigua with their Mum was more exciting than spending time with their boring old Dad in Fitton."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Martin. "Were you kidnapped by Father Christmas too?"

"No, I was kidnapped by a smug pilot with a silly name."

"All Arthur's idea, I promise," chuckled Herc.

"Of course," said Arthur. "It's Christmas. We should all be with our family!"

"But my daughters are abroad," said Douglas.

"And my family is all sick with flu," added Martin.

"So then you spend time with your other family," said Arthur. " _Us_!"

Martin and Douglas looked at each other. As usual, Arthur was sort of right. A family can be so many things, and at least Martin certainly felt like he had come home for Christmas.

 

 


End file.
